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Healthy Foods That Are Anti-Inflammatory Good

Healthy foods change your life…

They are not difficult to spot grocery shopping and easy to incorporate into your daily healthy lifestyle. This article is about anti-inflammatory healthy foods that will give your body and wallet the best bang for the buck, so you can have a healthy year and future.

…And that’s something to get excited about and celebrate. 🎉

…Which btw, I’m all about celebrating. That was how I started my career as a hotel catering sales manager and later for restaurant parties. My job in those roles was to plan event menus with prepared food dishes and desserts that made hosts and guests attending happy. These days, in similar fun festive spirit, I still do this at home weekly.

Party planning is fun, and it’s good to come up with a sweet and savory spread to enjoy in moderation and share on a celebration table of joy!

…But healthy-minded.

And to offset the happy food (that’s not always healthy), I bake in and eat lots of anti-inflammatory healthy foods in between.

Because anti-inflammatory foods help to work against all the foods and bad adds that are not helping our bodies.

Many of the good adds are plant-based foods and their anti-inflammatory properties are meant to protect the plant for survival.

…And as consumers, we benefit. 🎉

When I realized that fact, I never looked at my produce house plants grown from seeds in the same way again. 🌱🥑

Shelling out out the greens 💸for the green healthy foods is an investment in our bodies. And if you’re a green thumb, maybe you grow your own! 🥬

There are endless variety lists of healthy foods (and that’s the exciting part I’m talkin’ about!).

Elevating to the next degree is putting on AI (as in Anti-Inflammatory) glasses 👓 to choose low-glycemic foods and rainbow polyphenol foods 🌈

That’s just another way to finding anti-inflammatory healthy foods all around us.

They prevent free radicals in the body that I learned about in my college days when revealed science was already ahead of its time.

I even hung up a poster from the American Cancer Society that promoted basic whole foods like apples, oranges, and avocados. The colorful poster made me happy, splashed against my wall of poster art that was popular to do in those days.

…Ah, but those were the innocent years when adults didn’t know that healthy Omega-3 fats and nuts would be deemed good one day. How nuts! 🥜

…And those were also the days I educated my vitamin supplement consumers I had on the power of super foods with Vitamins A, C, and E that thankfully hasn’t changed healthy value much over the test of time. If anything, they are even more sought after in these longer living years.

Vitamin C was used to cure scurvy as early as the 1700s and today is a top immunity booster.

These Vit-C anti-inflammatory foods are the same healthy foods found around the world that protect against the common chronic diseases that we know, like: heart diseases, lifestyle born diseases, certain cancers, and even cognitive decline… that’s becoming more common family table talk on the rise.

…But it doesn’t have to be this way.

We can point to people who inherited pretty good or great genes, but now look decades older than their age because of lifestyle choices or causes.

Then there are others who weren’t so gene-blessed, but despite their genes they chose to live a healthy lifestyle and you would never know their unfavorable hidden genes based on their active lifestyle and healthy appearances.

One big difference for either is how they take care of themselves in life. Healthy, they protect their mind, body, and spirit, and they have purpose and community.

Anti-inflammatory foods and beverages also helped carry them into their golden years so they could optimally live.

Anti-inflammatory Foods Is Self-Care

Anti-inflammatory healthy foods is self-care in action.

The healthy foods can be weaved into daily eating habits and even baking… I know this intimately well because I do it weekly.

You can make delicious and comforting Southern-type meals and bakes with anti-inflammatory ingredients. It’s mindful and can be simple effort tweaks with an anti-inflammatory recipe.

Replacing with anti-inflammatory ingredients instead of the inflammatory, processed ones (that offer little to no nutritional value) makes a world of difference to the body.

Take a Southern dish like collard greens. Instead of loading with butter and bacon (like a stuffed potato), additive choice could be to add capers and olive oil as a healthy version. For a foodie, that tastes great and is comparable in the wallet for a food shopper. 🛒

But ah… there are traditionalists who don’t want to change a generational recipe… or find that style bland.

The challenge benefit is that if you do change it up, your tastes will help change along with you.

And that’s one way where you can improve your health legacy from previous generations. If your ancestors knew better or had better ingredients, they would have used them.

…And we do today. So we have a better choice.

It’s up to us.

Believe me, I know it’s hard to eat skinny, healthy, lean and mean during wintery months when comfort food is calling. This help keep us Vatas warm and cozy.🧶

Plus, winter season is a natural time to bring out our sad or sleepy Kapha body and mind sides. We’re complex beings in our comfort pants 😉.

And that’s when you can bring out the warm, savory healthy foods and anti-inflammatory healthy, delicious bakes to the table.

…And for starting the day and changing journey. 🌅

In mine, I took a sweet tooth cereal breakfast to a healthy savory habit.

That was not an easy path until I made up my mind.

Plus, age is on our side. Our taste buds help us out as we have less sweet taste buds as we get older.

Changing habits and ways to match desires is the challenge that gets to the goal. 🎯

It’s made easier with baby step action, habit changes.

…Like entertaining the idea of dinner leftovers for an easy breakfast or prepared vegetables for starters. And then doing it!

Even if we don’t naturally gravitate toward veggies first. 🙋🏻‍♀️

…Or we’ve created a habit of cereals and croissants.

I grew up that way along with oatmeal and fruit.

To bridge the wide gap, I made it easy on myself… I found that raw veggies eaten the next day don’t need to be refrigerated or prepared. So they’re easy to grab-n-go.

…They can be left out in plain sight even when feeling morning groggy and waiting to drink a cup of coffee.

The habit can be as easy as drinking a glass of water or brushing your teeth, first thing.

And getting in those few pieces of fiber healthy foods revs up the engine. It gets the gut happy, and that helps us get happy.

Happy gut = happy empowered day. 😊

Water and healthy foods are the gas and oil that makes the car go without hiccups so we can have a healthy life.

And these are a few simple fiber and anti-inflammatory healthy foods you can add to your diet that require little to no prep. They are healthy good if you’re on a keto diet of sorts because of the net carbs factor (in case you’re counting):

Asparagus – it’s a prebiotic fiber food that feeds your gut good food (bacteria) and has Vitamins A, C, and E. The net carbs for 6 spears of asparagus is about 2 grams. That’s pretty darn good!

But, with an anti-inflammatory diet rainbow assortment of foods 🌈, you don’t really need to count the good.

Green lentils – this is a quick cook, protein-filled meal and is a cleanse. It has almost 16 grams of fiber per cup, and sometimes double that of other lentil types. This is where reading labels comes in handy!

Add your alliums like onions or garlic that are fiber and also immunity boosters.

Bug pests hate them as well as viruses like the common cold. You can buy these whole foods in bunches for pennies to the dollar and they last a long time.

Sunflower seeds – are full of protein and Vitamin E, an antioxidant. You can add these for crunch.

And maybe even imagine them instead of chips.

Avocado – is great for breaking a fast (like breakfast). It has Vitamins C and E antioxidants and has all 3 macronutrients.

Red bell peppers – were stuffed peppers in my catering days that became a Vegetarian dish we served. With a little rice, you can make this a meal stuffed with Vitamins A, C, and E.

Squash – like spaghetti squash and butternut squash sauce can be the new tomato sauce (especially if you’re avoiding high acidity). These nutrient-dense healthy foods are polyphenol-rich, anti-inflammatory good.

Spinach – is an easy one to add to a bowl. Spinach doesn’t expire quickly like other salad types… and rather than eating it as a cold salad, try adding a few drops of water and steaming.

Your greens get wilted down into one or two bite-fulls. With a little garlic, sweet pear or apple bits, and crunchy chopped walnuts, this becomes a delicious bite. And, 1 cup of spinach is about 1 net carb gram.

My plan starts with foods winning points for the body keeping score, like the ones described with veggie fiber, healthy oil, protein, and healthy carbs.

Certain protein foods like quinoa and lentils are an efficient cooked starter as they cook fast and fill the body with nutrients and keep you from feeling hungry.

And, quinoa cereal became one of my bridge foods from sweet to savory.

Then on Sunday brunch weekends, I make Greek yogurt parfaits. Almost everything on my brunch recipes table that looks white and creamy is probiotic yogurt healthy. That goes for the tartar sauce, “whipped cream” toppings, and sweet fillings.

Rarely, do I find a need to use the whipped cream that’s stored in my freezer. And these days, I think the tart yogurt tastes better with the paired sweets.

…That’s how your tastes can change!

Greek yogurt topped on a pumpkin trifle. 🧡

And these are 3 ways you can get inspired to add and eat more anti-inflammatory healthy foods:

1.Lean into the seasonal produce foods that interest you. Like squashes, citrus, apples, pumpkin, and winter berries. You can find so many new fruit varieties like jackfruit and dragon fruit on the grocery shelves (and so many others that haven’t even made it from our tropical climate lands to our markets where they are named).

2.Reinvent sides. The stuffing sides can be what gets some of us in trouble, and if the carbs is what you’re worried about, you can reinvent the starchier side carbs to work for your body.

Stick with veggies carbs that are the opposite and with very few calories, and some have great flavors such as mushrooms, asparagus, and onions that you can turn into a Provencal herby-forward experience with a little tarragon, white pepper, vinegar or sherry.

Carrots (raw and cooked) are so versatile for sweet and savory dishes where you can substitute the fun marshmallows with a divine anti-inflammatory diet pairing like ginger and nut or seed textures. Appreciating food textures is a no-calorie add. 💭

3.Make healthy desserts. This is my specialty area and weakness turned into a positive, net gain.

It’s no baking secret that butter and refined sugars add to weight gain. And ingredients like white flour and white sugar are inflammatory foods. Moderation is still the best modern way.

Plus incorporating more healthy foods to add a cushion.

Keeping a balance between tasty and healthy is a dynamic pairing duo.

And the sweet spot is they are usually easy bakes in minutes like a healthy pear or apple pie with cinnamon spice sweetness.

You can make a pumpkin pie from pumpkin puree that’s loaded with antioxidant Vitamin A and beta carotene. Mix in plant-based almond milk. Then add allspice that’s all anti-inflammatory goodness as the sweet five-spice version!

For holiday sweets, you can start with those whole food ingredients like cranberries with oranges or sweet potatoes and honey and holiday spices… and then zhugh up with a few cherries or nuts…

You don’t have to give up the party sides 😉 (I personally wouldn’t want to from all my party planning years).

All this to say, re-branding healthy foods into your daily life is rewarding to your body and food table, enjoyable, and a challenge you can embrace! 🎉

De-Stress Reminders During Holidays

De-stress is highly called for during the thick of holiday season and looming year-end goal deadlines. Because stress can build up fast any day like a ton of bricks. And can go away just as quickly like a tumbling over Jenga set.

But these types of short-term stressors are different than life long-term stressors that often don’t have a quick ending resolve. You can use the 5 reminders below today to help you through your waiting process.

You can also use short-term de-stress feelings and the useful reminders throughout this article to help you with your long-term stress situations.

…Like for me, I use baking as a way to de-stress and relax after a work week. It keeps me on my toes, literally. I prepare a sweet table of goods and choux.

A healthy Greek yogurt tear-and-share raspberry-pistachio Paris Brest and lemon coconut choux.

…and you too can create your table to help shoo-away stress, and celebrate de-stress.

What isn’t so easy to de-stress restore is undercurrent effects and emotional turmoil stored in the mind-body coming from long-term stress that’s hard to identify.

Those are usually invisible sources which means they’re not as easy to pinpoint and process: like dreams unrealized or deep trauma.

…Or areas of life that haven’t gone the way you wanted.

But unlike long-term stress sources, short-term stress sources are easier to describe with people, things, work deadlines and tasks involved. They are temporary thorns to the side or lasting for a season that has an end (like holiday season end).

Experiencing those temporary stressors mean you’re alive, putting yourself out there, and trying in this life! 🎉

And your gained experiences coming out of stressful situations won’t go wasted in your future as they help you build resilience and adaptability (that make you more productive and joyful, not leaning in on the negative emotions).

Plus, you can productively use the short-term stress situations to de-stress feel-good when they’re immediately over.

Then your heart beats its normal speed again and you do a happy dance inside for your accomplishments. 🫀

…Like when you make a deadline and now the work is out of your hands.

…You feel lighter as the weight is lifted and you get a quick sigh of relief.

Those de-stress happy relief feelings can last for a day or weeks, but they gradually wear off.

But through the process of handling stressful situations and then experiencing them go away, that teaches us for the next time… that things will be okay.

And those lessons carry you to help handle the long-term stress situations that sit as elephants-in-the-room for any season, usually season after season. 🐘 🐘

They’re overhanging in this season of your (and my) life. The problem hasn’t resolved or the dream hasn’t transpired yet.

This can be a few things or big areas in your life…

…And I know how that goes because I started out without balance where I had wheel-of-life (real wheel) problems that felt like I was wrapped around tornadoes. 🌪️

But the problems… no matter what they were, became less problematic as I grew because I gained more experiences and resilience. I also prayed for answers. And my self-care wheel grew.

Eventually coming out of each of those tough situations taught me the most about how to handle stress better and embrace a better life meant for me.

…And your challenging areas in your life have grown you the most. ⛰️

Long-term Stressors are Your Future Dreams

Those long-term stressors from decades ago (that are still around 🐘) are setups for your future dreams realized. ✨

They are what will be your Future Life that has more meaning and purpose than how you started off as an adult.

They will be part of your destiny… and they will lead you away from a ho-hum life that you’re not meant to live.

The sweet spot for you today is to see them as part of a long-term plan and believe they are already yours in the future.

But wisely let them go now if the timing isn’t right.

One day the stars will align in perfect timing for those dreams manifested. Just know they are yours.

In that mindset, you keep going and growing in your life now.

Also, connect-the-dots and remind yourself that your big dreams are in your recurring problems. Yes, they are!

And when you find the blessing in your problems today, you bypass unnecessary stress.

The problems in disguise will deliver you to your dreams on the other side that will change shape, form, and clothes. 😊

Those tough areas of life today that don’t seem to have any resolve in sight can take many twists and turns, heart and headaches, and often many years to come to pass…

They’re the recurring situations that keep showing up as a thorn to your side when you least expect or hope would resolve.

But most likely, they fly in and out of your life and then disappear from view again. But they are not outta the picture, even though they’re not fully visible yet.

They re-appear from time to time as reminders to keep us humble and from doing things and making decisions that we would regret later on.

…And they’re the same thorns that are meant to be turned into victory roses (dreams) later down the destiny road on your designed path.

…No matter what age you are, you have those thorny dreams right now in your life.

You know exactly what your big dream is that has shown up before in some way you know, even if you’re still wondering.

And how you manage your long-term stressor feelings is going to affect your daily life outcomes, physical, and mental health.

…So stay curious, not furious.

The dream triggers and memory reminders are hints for you to keep dreaming about this are, like you do when you’re motivated to fulfill accomplishments.

Except these big dreams blow the little victories away.

Jobs and accolades you acquire will pale in comparison to your dream purpose in this life.

If your dream purpose didn’t show up again occasionally, you wouldn’t know it can be real or leave room for chances.

You wouldn’t be leaving room for the possibilities… where anything is possible in this life.

And this life is meant to be a big adventure (as none of us know the future).

The choice is yours as to whether you embrace that what happens to you is good for you (and not a bad setback).

Enjoy the ride!

I know sometimes that can be easier said than done (or may seem like pie-in-the-sky thinking)… so in those times, simply start by working on stressing less as nothing good comes from stressful feelings.

And, a good de-stress reminder is:

Remember to keep failing forward.

…Especially on your personal growth attempts (to be a better person).

And remember to keep trying because anything worth pursuing won’t be easy.

If it were easy, you’d never appreciate what you got because you didn’t work to get it.

And these are 5 good de-stress reminders to help you through the season and the holidays especially when long-term stressors show up or blow up again…

De-Stress Reminders Around Holidays

1.Get peace.

If it’s meant to be, it will happen.

Find your peace.

Right now, today, and in this moment your life deserves peace.

Both calm inner peace and peace about your decisions.

Use discernment for decisions needed to be made and clarity from baby or micro step actions forward.

You’re meant to live whole, loving, and healed today.

(The opposite of living in fear or feeling something inside you is missing or broken).

You’re not a victim to your circumstances… and you can break out of those feelings and mindset in your journey.

“Let the peace of God rule in your heart.” – Colossians 3:15

2.Congratulate yourself on how far you’ve come in your situation.

Reflect on how far you’ve come with your same and recurring stressful situations that used to be so painful in some way.

When you don’t care so much about the situations causing stress anymore as you once did, that’s a healthy move because you’re letting go (and letting light in).

You’re also naturally learning to de-stress some in the process.

Continue to live celebrating your internal wins daily while life is working things out in your favor for the aligned perfect timing. ✨

3.Believe in good things to come.

Believe that what you’re going through and have gone through (…maybe painfully) will help your situation in the end and on the other side. 🌈

Waiting, setbacks, disappointment, and delays now are purposefully setups for your comeback and life appointments.

You can be a victor now by changing your feelings, relaxing, and de-stressing.

Your waiting and what you’re going through now won’t last, but your dreams will come to pass and they will last!

4.Keep going forward and growing healthy.

Keep growing and learning despite your stressful situations.

Keep changing your thoughts to positive, loving ones.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” -Roman 12:2

Your other life-giving areas of your life are meant for this season. 🌱

Cherish them today, because they will change one day.

Use them to help you de-stress through your worry, thorn situations.

5.Keep a de-stress routine.

Find a way to de-stress every day.

I like a warm cup of tea. 🫖

I also do 4-7-8 breathing: inhaling in the gratitude and exhaling stressful negative energy.

When I felt the weight of my situations, I made sure to re-center myself back on my yoga mat and think about what I would be looking forward to later in the week and at nights.

Daily, I stay grateful for what I have in life as part of my habit stack routine. We all have things to be appreciative of in our lives… shoes and socks, showers, food, roof, lights, tea…

And my peaceful ritual every night is at 5:30 pm while working and I’m waiting for the daily sky show to light up.

Looking up and glancing out my western facing windows from my seat, I see the sky colors gradually change from day to night.

I do a little work and then look back up to see the dark rainbow colors change like an Aurora Borealis display.

Occasionally there are late afternoon storms. I find those cleansing. I appreciate the thunder claps and silvery pitter patter rain drops.

It’s not about the type of show I get, it’s about the day and night showing up for me that I take personally.

Every day like clockwork for a half-hour, I pause and a new painted sky happens, often in shades of purple, orange, blues and whites, and that reminds me that EVERYTHING will be all right as promised.

…the sunset show is my de-stress therapy for this season. 🌅 And maybe that’s something to embrace in your changing season.

Thanksgiving Quote For Happiness

Thanksgiving is a universal reminder time of thanks. One way that often takes a back seat is to love ourselves.

That way, we have more room to give love and pass on the abundance to family, neighbors, and others on our journey path.

Loving ourselves means forgiving ourselves and others, like God forgave us. We want to feel grateful.

If you’re stuck, maybe ask: what am I hung up on that I don’t have?

Because we have so much more to be grateful for than what we don’t have.

Our brains easily fool us into focusing on the wrong and negative things.

And part of what we don’t have that we think we want right now is going to be what gives us a better future.

Because life is rigged in our favor in our belief and faith.

This isn’t something we’re born with knowing, but over time and experience you grow wiser and the knowing inside you becomes more clear.

Daily thought choices determine our future view of ourselves, our lives, success, and happiness.

Thanksgiving quote:

“Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.” – Deepak Chopra

Even though none of us know the future outcomes no matter what age we are.

But the answers are inside us waiting for the ripe-ready reveal time to birth.

That’s a spiritual way to look at it and how I see it from my reflecting back lens of life experiences. I didn’t see that back in my 30s (so don’t worry if you think you’re a late bloomer).

It’s a gradual shift like time.

And over time, you can realize nothing in your past was wasted. The hard things you went through made it easier for you now or in the future. And the dumb things done (we all have them!) made you smarter now.

It’s in our future where we get new revelations.

And most of our answers to our life’s purposes are already inside us.

We first have to grow up, learn to change our auto-responses, and heal from our past hurts that will help us.

…That’s how this one Life we get to live keeps getting better, and our perspectives change because we allow them to with our open curiosity.

The famous saying is that this (as in life) is not a dress rehearsal.

But for those of us who believe in Heaven, it is.

We’re here for experiences and growth.

And as we gather more experiences, we learn and grow. That’s the purpose of this life as I believe. And we do that by ourselves and with others.

And if you want to make this a new season different than past ones, then dig deeper in the well for your answers.

They’re there! 🎯

You only stay stuck when you box yourself in… I remember years ago where I spent a couple Thanksgivings abroad. It’s always a weird feeling because that special Thursday is only celebrated in America.

Initially I felt I was missing out. But then, it made me realize I could be thankful anywhere I was.

Thanksgiving holiday is not about the food… entirely (as I’m from the foodie world 🥘). But getting away from the holiday food traditions helped me to break out of the “this is how it is.”

And that breaking out allowed for embracing growth in future seasons. And not just for new situations, but also a new hopeful attitude.

I found early-on in my journey that my ego blocked these types of beliefs in my auto-thoughts. And I allowed it to because I didn’t know any better.

The brain would serve up the woes-me thoughts for what I didn’t have and wanted.

Part of the process and journey was learning this unhelpful built-in ego feature as a first step.

I wish it didn’t take me beyond 35 years to learn, but I’m glad it didn’t take another 35 years (or never) 😉

And breaking through, when I could tap into my deeper compassionate and feeling sides, that’s when I got more breakthroughs.

…I was less judgmental about myself and more forgiving that projected out to the world… to judge less and forgive more.

Imagine if that radiating energy caught on in most of us. It would be one big ball of massive fire in the world! ☄️ We could use that energy to help and grow our world filled with challenges.

But starting with ourselves is the first and most important place to begin, and keep daily renewing…

Breaking down self-judgment walls and bringing back self-love keeps us growing.

…It helps you and me see better.

Especially if you didn’t feel the love when you were younger or in your more recent situational past.

…When I felt the self-pity from setbacks in life, I bounced back by finding my gratitude and giving spirit (thanksgiving)

Giving can be sharing, donating time or money, providing, spending time, encouraging words, and sending positive loving vibes to the world. 💕

It can be as simple as recognizing that it’s not all about you or me.

It can be about paying forward gratitude for the blessed things I already have or experiences I had.

Getting sensitized and feeling again knocked me out of gray confusion clouds and into sunnier skies.

We are meant to keep growing forward in life so we don’t put ourselves back in the shoes of our former selves. Been there done that.

In today’s moments, we can acknowledge that we’re in a better place by finding examples from our past.

Comparing our new level today with our past level gets us to our next better level of tomorrow.

Proof of this is easy to find for all of us…

If you go waaayyy back to the past as kids (or young adults we were called) that none of us are anymore… back then, we were more impressionable as our younger selves.

We had to get everything okay’d before proceeding as how culture and life is setup.

As pre-adults, we didn’t have the means to do the things we can do today on our own.

And if we did do them then, we’d probably have gotten lost and would be ungrateful as we didn’t fully understand what we had in front of us.

We were still developing our adult minds.

Today as found former-lost baby sheep, we have wiser perspectives to draw from. 🐑

Congratulating our growth is one small step and happy way we can be thankful for this season in life even if it doesn’t look anything like we hoped for!

The focal point sign that we can dwell on is “you’re here”… and it’s years later and you no longer have the same problems you had back there.

So you could come up with a list of what you’ve arrived at today.

Imagine if you had the same challenges and choices you had as a young adult, you’d be so frustrated because you’re no longer with that same mindset. But you’re not there, so that’s one thing you can be thankful for.

And those little thanks help you to embrace where you imperfectly are.

We’re still and always will be dynamic works-in-progress.

Thankfully so because that means we’re alive! 🤸🏻

And collecting up all those fond past memories that you can re-live in present moment happiness helps to keep us rejuvenated.

Then in the tough times (the ones that so blind-shockingly happened), those help grow us into better people.

We become more deeply grateful for what we have… maybe not immediately, but we end up developing stronger character in survival and in the process to get to the other side. 🌈

Even wasted time we feel now was well spent because we learned the lesson to never go there again. And now we don’t have to painfully back track and re-learn the same lesson.

And all of us are walking examples of lessons learned.

We can keep going, getting inspired daily, and FEELing-thinking our way to our thanksgiving.

Holidays like Thanksgiving are welcomed reminders that give us reason to be thankful.

…And to say “thank you” more often.

Focus on “you.”

See yourself through others.

And practice old-fashioned manners and simple Thanksgiving sayings like please that never gets old and goes a long way.

Malt Loaf to One Bowl Molasses Cake

Malt loaf bread is comfy country bread that I could eat regularly as in weekly. It’s hearty, comfort food like a raisin bread. And this similar molasses cake (yes, you heard right!) recipe needs no proofing.

Learn more below 👇

malt loaf with early grey tea. — Recipe below 🧡

Molasses is one of the star ingredients in this loaf or cake (depending on how you want to look at it) and one of my favorite sweet ingredients. ⭐️

Watching the slow as molasses dark glossy liquid glide down the jar to the opening is joyful.

And when it does and makes contact with its destination, it comes with multi-dimensional tastes.

…I like to call it dark caramel and one that Grandma’s from the south grew up with. (That’s also the common household molasses brand most of us know).

It’s got the old-fashioned flavors mixed in…

Along with regular molasses comes a bit of sweet, bitter, and black licorice tastes that gives gingerbread cookies its distinct flavor.

The acidity in the ingredient also helps to activate the cake rise if you use a common household ingredient like baking soda (that’s usually stored in the fridge for other purposes).

Also, unlike white table sugar as a sweetener, amazingly molasses has anti-inflammatory effects. If you’re a food science nerd like me then you get excited about these nuances in daily sustenance that affect the body! 🎉 …and whether the ingredient will be used.

Not as common is blackstrap molasses that comes out after the third boiling, so most of the sugar has dissolved like Houdini. It has a lower glycemic index and polyphenols compared to regular molasses. PLUS it has minerals and Vitamin B-6.

With the dark flavor, the dark color matches.

It’s perfect for the cooler months and warming inside if you think of a warm fireplace playing jazzy tunes. 🎶

…And just in time for holiday baking season.

Malt loaf was a challenge on the The Great British Bake Off where I heard of the cakey bread.

And I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love a cakey bread because that means no proofing, but is Prue-fitting, as in Judge Prue Leith who sent the loaf popularity waves across the pond… and into my sound waves vicinity.

…And what makes this loaf so out-of-the-ordinary great is the plumped up raisins from the Earl Grey tea.

It’s a strong brisk black tea that is what you expect for an afternoon high tea. 🫖

I had first heard of the intriguing “raisin plumping” idea in a food class where I collaborated with dieticians.

I loved the idea then… and loved it even more when I added them to this recipe.

You can see how bold and dramatic the raisins become. Who knew raisins could grow and not more wrinkly old? 😁

And to top off this breakfast dessert, you can add a glaze if you wanna shine! ✨

But I like the rustic and plain… like the simple raisin bread. But with bananas, this one is even BETTER.

Not needing butter.

And however you bake your cake or bread, you can make this in one bowl or even in the same baking pan it will end up in! That’s what happened here…

I mean, it doesn’t get much easier than this for fall foods, breads, and baked goods. That makes it so easy to FALL for! 🍂

You in? 😊

Easy Malt Loaf Cake

A moist malt loaf that has molasses as a star ingredient.

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy LIfe Secrets

Ingredients

1 tbsp Early Grey tea, brewed
1 tbsp raisins (plumped up from tea)
1/3 cup currants, chopped dates, or additional raisins
1 cup mashed bananas
1 tbsp coconut oil (in addition to coating the pan)
1/3 cup molasses
2 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup almond milk or milk of choice or more
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup flour of choice
walnuts, chopped (optional)

Instructions

Coat your baking vessel with coconut oil that helps to give a nice thin outer crust and help prevent sticking to the pan. If you prefer less crust, then you can use a light dusting of flour to coat your pan or use a non-stick baking spray.
Brew hot tea and add raisins to the tea. While you're waiting for the tea to steep and raisins to plump up, make the loaf.
Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Easy tip: you can do this in one bowl and even the same baking pan/vessel that you will use to bake the loaf! This is/should be a very liquid-y batter (like pancake) depending on the flour(s) you use tthat will come out moist. Bake on 350°F for 65-80 minutes until outside is the brown color preferred.

Mint Chocolate Biscuit – No Bake Easy

Mint chocolate biscuit is one of my happy cookie memories. They were the Girl Scout Cookies that I grew up with. And Thin Mints were my favorite… Hands down (and up)! 🙌

I’ll show how you can get similar tastes below that I made in my weekday NO-bake kitchen tent…

Where I have all the ingredients. And I laugh when people say peppermint flavors “taste like toothpaste.”

…Like I did watching The Great British Bake Off where one of the contestants said that on Biscuit Week where a peppermint chocolate technical biscuit challenge was presented on the gingham table under the tent. 🎪

…And if you agree and a Girl Scout Samoa cookie is more your taste, then you might like this energizing and healthy Chocolate Coconut Bar.

BUT, if you’re okay with Thin Mints or peppermint is your chocolate vibe… what makes the mint chocolate biscuit cookie so enticing is that it melts in your mouth with a magically good crunch.

And if you leave them in their sleek cellophane sleeve in the freezer for a few hours, the crunch is even more pronounced.

Inspired by them, I made my own cluster of chocolate peppermint treats.

They look a wee-bit like chocolate popcorn, yes?… but you’ll never guess what they are made of…

It’s NOT popcorn… they’re oyster crackers.

Yep, the kind you buy from the soup aisle in the grocery store or that is served with a bowl of restaurant soup.

This bowl was a homemade oyster seafood broth that looks like it’s adorned with a strand of classy oyster (cracker) pearls 🦪

Before you laugh at or dismiss the sweet biscuit idea, consider it as a snack…

Rather than a salty or Saltine one, you get a sweet bite that satisfies your sugary hankerin’. 😋

If you like a crunchy biscuit, and the chocolate-mint flavor pairing duo, then this simple way could do the trick.

And if you’re like me and appreciate a perfect cookie shape but prefer to spend your time on other baking or non-kitchen projects, then these bites are time-savers when you look at it that way.

And they don’t have the long list of processed ingredients you find in packaged goods (that aren’t simple crackers).

These will get gobbled up too… before Thanksgiving. 🦃

And without guilt… I mean, have you ever made something too good you didn’t want eat it or give it away? I know you have and I know I have.

But these you don’t have to think twice about because you can make plenty of these in no time like a Keebler elf.

…Remember, they’re NO BAKE so there’s no oven wait.

So you can make these in minutes, and maybe seconds… ⏲️

And Voila! you have a low-fat, low-calorie tasty chocolaty snack.

You can also add these to your EASY snack list for road trips, hikes, and lunch bags.

Recipe below. 🧡

And if you’re still on the idea fence… these cracker snacks are light compared to buttery baked goods, so they won’t weigh you down.

Saltine cracker ingredients are simple: unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour enriched with thiamine, niacin and riboflavin B-vitamins), palm/canola oil, salt, malted barley flour, baking soda, and yeast.

…That’s pretty much the same type of healthy-style bread baking ingredients that you’d use if you were baking healthy at home.

Many store bought crackers use a ‘lil oil for the fat and in moderation that’s all good. And for the chocolate you can melt with a coconut oil healthy fat that gives a nice glossy shine.

This mint chocolate biscuit recipe uses a healthy no-taste coconut oil that doesn’t compete with mint. More on that below. Keep reading…

And so mint is the flavor we want to be the star. 💫

Plus, peppermint is calming…

If you have a tummy ache, reaching for a peppermint tea is good to have in your food-as-medicine pantry cabinet.

Peppermint relaxes the muscles along the gut that runs from your mouth roof top all the way to your bottom.

It’s your GI tract but I like to say gut as I think it gets to the heart of the matter, as it helps our happiness (where most of the happy hormones are made in the gut).

…And maybe that’s why we consult our gut for answers… often asking what does our gut say? 😁

And along those lines, peppermint food and drinks are good for our Vata and Pitta sides because we’re getting warmed and cooled by the menthol effects.

That also helps us blend in better with these climate change days.

Plus, peppermint always give the holiday vibes that warms the spirit and gives us a pep in our steps…

A peppermint cocoa blend moves into artisanal drink territory.

It’s NO B-E-a-k-e.

…Just like these easy, No FAFF biscuits (as they would say in the GBBO tent). 🎪

And the contestants would love this as a challenge where they can skip the shortbread dough step, subtract baking, and head straight to the tempered chocolate stage. 😉

These are made with low-salt Saltines.

And decorated with peppermint candy canes (that were saved from last holiday season for this very special purpose of getting hammer-crushed one warm day).

I also made one with a sandwiched mint cream reminiscent of Grasshopper cookies that mysteriously hopped away.

And if you wanted to use animal crackers, that would be fun. Elephants, bears, and tigers… OH MY! 🐘🧸🐯

…Or go more classic with round crackers reminiscent of Thin Mints.

And brings us back full circle! 🟢

The point is: these will work on any plain cracker (how smart!)… and you’re guaranteed a crunch (unless you dunk them in your drink or soup).

…then you’d have a soggy bottom issue that we learned is no good 😕 from The Great British Bake Off.

And we don’t want to get on the bad side of Judges Paul or Prue.

The Great British Bake Off is all about whimsical baking antics and creative baking. — This is my graphical representation of the GBBO show 🍰

…Especially since we won’t be baking this time.

Melting the chocolate right is the best way to stay in their good graces… and get a decent peppermint flavor that comes through.

So for these chocolate mint biscuit crackers, I used MCT oil because it’s coconut oil without the coconut taste… brilliant!

MCT stands for medium chain triglycerides that help weight management and burning body fat.

MCT oil is often used for optimizing ketone energy (and not for making biscuits 😊). If you’re fasting, you can prolong your fast with MCT oil without feeling zapped of energy.

MCT oil is also good for health and inflammation prevention. We know that chronic inflammation leads to the chronic diseases that are still the #1 causes for mortality.

And if you like what you’re hearing (and get curiously hooked), this is a healthy habit you can habit stack with your coffee or fasting routine.

🎉 So here we go: these are the 4-easy ingredients that will bring the simple mint chocolate biscuit cracker recipe together.

Peppermint Chocolate Biscuits

These are No-bake and recipe is enough to make a dozen 2" size biscuits like square Saltines that can be enjoyed year-round and spruced up for the holidays.

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

12 Saltines (low-salt or animal crackers)
1 tsp MCT oil
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 tsp peppermint oil
peppermint candy (optional)

Instructions

Melt the chocolate with oil and peppermint oil. It will take about 5 minutes with warm-hot water (not boiling hot) with spoon stirring. You can see how to best melt chocolate: https://healthyhappylifesecrets.com/recipes/best-way-to-melt-chocolate-coconut-oil/
Dip the crackers front and back in the chocolate mixture while warm. Set them side-by-side flat on a tray.
Zhugh with crushed peppermint (optional)
Refrigerate or cool the tray.
Enjoy!